To the editor,
In a week that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a six-year, $3.9 billion investment in a high-speed rail network linking Montreal to Toronto, it is time we address the elephant in the room here in the Algoma District: Sault Ste. Marie is less accessible during winter than the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s story, The Shining.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reminded us all just how isolated we are in the Soo when, yesterday, he was forced to cancel his trip to the area due to the crash landing of Delta flight 4819 that closed the runways at Toronto's Pearson Airport. Ford was scheduled to make local appearances at Algoma Steel and meet with Ontario Pipe Trade Council local 800 to remind voters how connected he is to Algoma. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it here.
Over the last 30 years there has been virtually zero effort by any level of government to invest in safe and reliable travel options in Northern Ontario to link our communities and connect our people.
Highway 17, both north and east of the Soo, has seen its fair share of horrific incidents over the years; now in 2025, it seems like airplanes fall out of the sky every few days.
Unlike Trudeau’s high-speed rail plan, Algoma District would not need to build the infrastructure from scratch if we reintroduced traditional passenger rail service to Sudbury; the tracks are already there.
Such a service is a safe, convenient, efficient and reliable mode of travel. It is also an incredible experience in itself, a living tourist attraction credited with the vast expansion of Canada.
Restoring a passenger train network that connects the Soo to Sudbury is essential in order to grow our economy and renew our standing as "The Gateway to the North."
Tom Charters
Sault Ste. Marie